Industries that rely on the transmission of materials and data through underground conduit such as pipes, electrical transmission lines, fiber optic lines and others must record the location of such lines. Likewise, these industries must be able to quickly recall the location of underground conduit for repairs, emergencies, and to inform the public or government entities or other contractors who may excavate or dig near the location of the underground conduit and facilities.
The ability to quickly recall the location of these underground conduits and related facilities is critical. When these facilities or conduits are struck from excavating or digging equipment, the facilities or conduits may be damaged and may injure the equipment operator and harm the environment. For example, a break in an underground electricity transmission line may not only result in electrocution, but may also disrupt power to homes and businesses, may result in losses of revenue and perishable products, and may put the health and safety of the public at risk.
Those in the industry of utilizing underground facilities include electrical and gas companies, telecommunication and data transmission companies, and utilities, such as sewer and water. In response to the need to recall the location of underground conduits and facilities, the industry has created contact centers for the public and businesses to call and request information regarding any underground facilities before excavating or digging. For example, if a resident decides to install an in-ground swimming pool on the resident's property or replace a septic tank, the resident may call the contact center and inquire whether there are any underground lines or other hazards in the area before excavating or digging.
In the last 25 years, the expansion of underground lines and facilities has rapidly increased. Electrical and telecommunications lines are typically buried, and the increase in popularity of broadband and cable services has also increased the numbers of buried facilities. Due to this increase in underground facilities and the large number of businesses and utilities that install and utilize them, the information in the contact centers may be inaccurate or incomplete. For example, information used by these contact centers, such as above the ground reference markers—the location of buildings and fences, etc.—often change over time without notifications of the changes being sent to contact centers.
Similarly, counties and cities may also be able to collect and provide information to the public to identify the location of property boundaries, utility easements, condemned structures and underground aquifers. These records may be inaccurate due to changes in the topography, improvements in the area, and encroachments.
Deep excavation is also a concern, and identifying the locations of underground facilities before excavating is important. Many times this excavation is occurring along or near pipelines carrying extremely volatile or toxic products such as natural gas, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or other chemicals. In many cases, the individuals performing the excavation are not aware of the safety precautions that should be followed or the hazards involved when excavating near such pipelines. Pipeline operators often take steps to educate those the business of deep excavation by providing various types of safety messages via postal mail, face-to-face meetings, and open training seminars; it is however, very difficult for a pipe or utility to accurately identify all of the companies and individuals that may perform some form of excavation along their pipeline assets. Even when the appropriate excavation professional is identified and provided with safety information, the messages are often too late or too early to be as effective as possible.